Classifications

• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61B—DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION
  • A61B17/00—Surgical instruments, devices or methods, e.g. tourniquets
  • A61B17/34—Trocars; Puncturing needles
  • A61B17/3462—Trocars; Puncturing needles with means for changing the diameter or the orientation of the entrance port of the cannula, e.g. for use with different-sized instruments, reduction ports, adapter seals
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61B—DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION
  • A61B17/00—Surgical instruments, devices or methods, e.g. tourniquets
  • A61B17/34—Trocars; Puncturing needles
  • A61B17/3417—Details of tips or shafts, e.g. grooves, expandable, bendable; Multiple coaxial sliding cannulas, e.g. for dilating
  • A61B17/3421—Cannulas
  • A61B17/3439—Cannulas with means for changing the inner diameter of the cannula, e.g. expandable
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61B—DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION
  • A61B17/00—Surgical instruments, devices or methods, e.g. tourniquets
  • A61B17/34—Trocars; Puncturing needles
  • A61B17/3417—Details of tips or shafts, e.g. grooves, expandable, bendable; Multiple coaxial sliding cannulas, e.g. for dilating
  • A61B17/3421—Cannulas
  • A61B17/3423—Access ports, e.g. toroid shape introducers for instruments or hands
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61B—DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION
  • A61B17/00—Surgical instruments, devices or methods, e.g. tourniquets
  • A61B17/34—Trocars; Puncturing needles
  • A61B17/3417—Details of tips or shafts, e.g. grooves, expandable, bendable; Multiple coaxial sliding cannulas, e.g. for dilating
  • A61B17/3421—Cannulas
  • A61B17/3431—Cannulas being collapsible, e.g. made of thin flexible material
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61B—DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION
  • A61B17/00—Surgical instruments, devices or methods, e.g. tourniquets
  • A61B2017/00535—Surgical instruments, devices or methods, e.g. tourniquets pneumatically or hydraulically operated
  • A61B2017/00557—Surgical instruments, devices or methods, e.g. tourniquets pneumatically or hydraulically operated inflatable
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61B—DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION
  • A61B17/00—Surgical instruments, devices or methods, e.g. tourniquets
  • A61B17/34—Trocars; Puncturing needles
  • A61B17/3417—Details of tips or shafts, e.g. grooves, expandable, bendable; Multiple coaxial sliding cannulas, e.g. for dilating
  • A61B2017/3419—Sealing means between cannula and body
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
  • A61B—DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION
  • A61B90/00—Instruments, implements or accessories specially adapted for surgery or diagnosis and not covered by any of the groups A61B1/00 - A61B50/00, e.g. for luxation treatment or for protecting wound edges
  • A61B90/40—Apparatus fixed or close to patients specially adapted for providing an aseptic surgical environment

Definitions

• the present invention relates to an apparatus for use in laparoscopic surgery and, more particularly, to an apparatus for providing a seal or valve structure within a cannula which effectively and cost efficiently provides a means for preventing an inert gas from escaping while allowing the repeated insertion and removal of surgical instruments through the cannula.
• Surgical techniques and instruments have been developed which, among other things, reduce the size of incisions required to perform various surgical procedures. These techniques and instruments have been successful to various degrees. Indeed, surgical procedures which only a few years ago required an incision six or seven inches in length are today performed through incisions requiring less than one inch in length. Trocars are one type of surgical instrument which have significantly contributed to these advances. In general, trocars are sharp pointed surgical instruments which can be used to create and maintain small, bowl like incisions in a body cavity. Surgical instruments, including miniaturized optical devices, can be inserted through these small incisions and manipulated to perform surgical procedures within the body cavity without ever exposing the patient's internal organs or structures to the outside environment.
• conventional trocars have greatly contributed to the reduction and size of the incisions required to perform surgical procedures and reduce the related complications.
• Conventional trocars generally include an obturator and a cannula.
• An obturator is a small, nail like structure for penetrating the body wall to create a working channel into the body cavity.
• the cannula is a tube like structure which is inserted into the incision made by obturator to maintain a working channel even after the obturator is removed.
• the obturator and cannula are assembled into a single unit by inserting the obturator within the cannula and then a combination is used to puncture the body wall. The obturator can then be carefully withdrawn from the cannula without removing the cannula from the body wall. Surgical instruments can be inserted through this cannula to perform an entire surgical procedure within the body cavity as mentioned above.
• the body cavity is inflated with a non toxic gas before the trocar is employed to create a working pocket or volume within the patient and to prevent the trocar from penetrating internal organs during insertion.
• a patient's abdomen is inflated with a gas through a veress needle.
• the obturator is then used to place cannulas in various locations throughout the inflated abdomen to perform the procedure.
• One such cannula would typically be used to pass a small camera and light into the body cavity so the surgeon could view the operating area within the patient.
• Other cannulas would be used at other locations to pass surgical instruments into the cavity and remove tissue such as the appendix from the patient.
• the present invention is directed to an apparatus for use in internal surgical procedures, more particularly, an apparatus for use in laparoscopic surgical procedures providing a simple and cost effective sealing mechanism within a cannula which readily accepts the repeated insertion and removal of surgical instruments through the seal without permitting escape of gasses through the seal.
• the apparatus consists of a rigid tube having an inner surface defining a hollow channel and a flexible sleeve located within the hollow channel forming an inner channel within the hollow channel where the flexible sleeve is sufficiently elastic to close the inner channel in response to pressurization between the outside of the flexible sleeve and the inner surface of the hollow channel.
• the flexible sleeve is also constructed and arranged to permit an external instrument to pass through the inner channel of the sleeve while maintaining the inner channel closed due to the pressurization between the sleeve and the inner surface of a hollow channel.
• FIG. 1 is a side view according to the present invention including the outer cannula and the inner seal;
• FIG. 2 is an end view according to the present invention of the cannula with its inner seal
• FIG. 3 is a diagram according to the present invention showing how surgical instruments can be inserted through the cannula and its inner seal while still maintaining a closed seal within the cannula. While the invention is amenable to other various modifications in alternative forms, specifics thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and will be described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the intention is not to limit the invention to a particular embodiment described. On the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
• the present invention in believed to be applicable to a variety of apparatus and arrangements in which external instruments are to be passed through an opening separating two environments in which a pressure difference between these environments exists and in which a seal between these environments needs to be maintained.
• the invention has been found to be particularly advantageous in application environments in which laparoscopic surgery is performed and in which surgical instruments are to be passed into a body cavity to perform an operation. While the present invention is not so limited, an appreciation of various aspects of the invention is best gained through discussion of application examples operating in such a laparoscopic surgical environment.
• the present invention is of course, applicable to providing an apparatus that permits any external instruments to be passed between two environments sealed to maintain the pressure difference between the two environments.
• the surgical instrument 101 consists of an elongated rigid tube 102 in which a flexible tube or sleeve is placed within a hollow channel located within the rigid tube 102.
• the flexible tube or sleeve 103 is supported on the rigid tube 102 using a weld 105 attaching the bottom of the tube to the side wall.
• the flexible tube is also supported with some overlap 106 at the point at which the rigid tube mates with an entrance receptacle 104 as it attaches to the second end of the rigid tube 107.
• the receptacle is a funnel shaped device which has a wide opening 108 and a narrow opening 107 in which its narrow opening 107 mates with the size of the second end of the rigid tube 102. This funnel structure is useful in guiding the insertion of external instruments into the rigid tube 102 and flexible tube 103 by permitting the funnel structure to guide the instruments towards the center of the rigid and flexible tubes.
• a flexible tube 103 is constructed of a slippery polyurethane or Teflon-like material to permit the easy passage of an external instrument through the sleeve to exit the rigid tube 102 at its first end 106.
• the flexible tube 103 use of a slippery, plastic, polyurethane-like material provides the required elasticity to allow the flexible tube to be compressed under pressure to close the opening of the inner channel formed within the flexible tube 103.
• the rigid tube 102 is inserted within a small hole within the body cavity which can be sized to match the outer diameter of the rigid tube 102.
• the body cavity is generally pressurized using an inert gas, such as CO 2 , such that the internal pressure within the body cavity is greater than the outside air.
• the flexible tube will deform around the external instrument, thus permitting the instrument to pass through both the flexible tube 103 and exit the rigid tube 102.
• the pressurization is present within the rigid tube's first end 106.
• the pressurization continues to press the flexible tube against the surfaces of the external instrument as it passes through the inner channel, thus maintaining a within the inner channel.
• the external instrument can now be used to perform surgical procedures within the body cavity. As the external instrument is removed, it passes back through the inner channel of the flexible tube. Pressurization from within the body cavity maintains the collapsed structure of the flexible tube, thus maintaining the seal of the inner channel around the instrument until it is closed when the instrument is completely removed.
• FIG. 2 an end view of the surgical instrument looking down towards the top of the receptacle is shown.
• the outer edge 208 shows the outer dimension of the receptacle which funnels down towards the mating surface between the receptacle and the rigid tube at 207.
• the flexible tube is depicted in its closed position 203 as the flexible tube is gathered up to close the opening within the inner channel formed within 207.
• An external instrument would be inserted down through the center of the structure as the flexible tube 203 conforms to the shape and surface of this external instrument as it passes down through the length of the inner channel formed within the rigid and flexible tubes.
• an embodiment of the present invention is shown in use where the cannula structure 302 is inserted within a body cavity 301 at an incision 310.
• a surgical instrument 303 is passed through the center of cannula 302 again through the inner channel of the flexible tube which seals the opening through the cannula.
• an additional structure has been added which permits the supply of an inert gas to be placed within the body cavity 301.
• This additional structure consists of an inert gas line 304 which comes from an external source connected to a valve structure 305 which allows the gas supply to be turned on and off.
• This valve structure can be made part of the receptacle housing.
• This structure is also connected to a secondary tube which runs parallel to the rigid tube 102 of the cannula with an opening near at the first end of the rigid tube 102 permitting the gas to enter within the body cavity 301 on the far end side of the flexible tube 103, providing the pressurization within the body cavity needed to close the inner channel of the flexible tube 103.
• This supply of gas can be made part of the canal as described herein or can be made as a separate structure inserted in the body at some other location.

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• Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Surgery (AREA)
• Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
• Medical Informatics (AREA)
• Animal Behavior & Ethology (AREA)
• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Biomedical Technology (AREA)
• Heart & Thoracic Surgery (AREA)
• Pathology (AREA)
• Molecular Biology (AREA)
• Nuclear Medicine, Radiotherapy & Molecular Imaging (AREA)
• General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
• Public Health (AREA)
• Veterinary Medicine (AREA)
• Surgical Instruments (AREA)
• Endoscopes (AREA)
• Materials For Medical Uses (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Publications (2)

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Family Applications (1)

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• 1997
  • 1997-12-10 US US08/988,157 patent/US6004303A/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
• 1998
  • 1998-12-09 ES ES98962037T patent/ES2281942T3/es not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1998-12-09 WO PCT/US1998/026174 patent/WO1999029242A1/en active IP Right Grant
  • 1998-12-09 AT AT98962037T patent/ATE355793T1/de not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 1998-12-09 DE DE69837281T patent/DE69837281T2/de not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1998-12-09 EP EP98962037A patent/EP1035804B1/de not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1998-12-09 CA CA002312801A patent/CA2312801A1/en not_active Abandoned

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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